PATENTS ON LIFE-

SAVING DRUGS SHOULD

BE BYPASSED.

What is patent?

Patents, in this cource ,we refer to the exclusive monopoly right over a particular drug that extend for a period of 20 years.

A patent (pronounced /pætənt/ or /peɪtənt/) is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention. ------------- Wikipedia

The definition of life-saving drugs:More importantly our definition of Life-Saving drugs will be drugs that are widely accepted by the scientific community ,curing or reducing the effects of illnesses that if left untreated would result in death, such as HIV, AIDS

The definition of bypasswe mean completely circumvent as is detailed in the Stiglitz plan that we set out that combines a pooling system with financial incentives, that means we create a new system to take place the current system about patents on life-saving drugs

Background information

Nowadays many kinds of life-threatening disease have effected many people around the world. Drugs seem rather important to the us, especially those undeveloped countries. However, the price of those life-saving drugs is rather high. How could we find a balance?

TRIPS: Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 《与贸易有关的知识产权协议》

Related laws and principles

The patent law: a patent provides the right to exclude others[13] from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for the term of the patent, which is usually 20 years from the filing date.

Social contracts

The whole point of law is to shape character, to cultivate the virtue of citizen, thus make it possible a good way to live.

-----------Aristotle

Countries that started to use the law

france(1791)

spain （ 1820）

German （ 1877）

Japan （ 1826）

America(1790) : 1861(17years)------1994(20years)

Countries that do not have patents

(patents as state-granted monopolies inconsistent with )free trade

Netherlands

Switzerland

1. Joseph Eugene Stiglitz

He is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences . He is also an honorary professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management.

In July 2008 Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir John Sulston criticised the "moral corruption" of the medical industry. Amongst others Sulston said that the world is at a crisis point in terms of getting medicines to sick people, particularly in the developing world. Sulston called for an international biomedical treaty to clear up issues over patents

Scientists who are in favor of this motion

2: Sir John Sulston

Scientists who are against this motion

He argues that the companies given monopolies "set prices largely on the willingness/ability to pay, also taking into account the country, disease and regulation" instead of receiving competition from legalized generics

•Trevor Jones

Four main focus about this kind of motion that consider the law principle:

• legality

• fairness

• morality

•Structure barrier

The main focus about this motion1:legality:• wheather it is legal( law vs social convention)

3:morality:• wheather it is morally right 4:structure barrier:•wheather the current system is flawed

• wheather the system is efficient

2: fairness: •wheather it is fair to the pharmaceutical companies

•Wheather it is fair to people

legality

Prop:

1: law is based on social convention.

2:In the United States, the Constitution empowers Congress to make laws to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts..

Governments and companies in Brazil, India, Thailand and Uganda have started to challenge pharmaceutical patents, arguing that human lives are more important than patents, copyright, international trade laws, and the economic interest of the pharmaceutical industry

legality

•1:the source from the law: Paragraph 4 of Article 65, paragraph 8 of Article 70 and paragraph 3 of Article 24:

Patents shall be available and patent rights enjoyable without discrimination as to the place of invention, the field of technology and whether products are imported or locally produced. -----TRIPS

opp:

•A developing country has options for obtaining needed medications under compulsory licensing or importation of cheaper versions of the drugs, even before patent expiration ----- WTO rules

fairness

Prop:

1. It is fair to people who are in great needs

The price is cheaper, thus lots of people can afford it.

Eg:Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization started producing generic antiviral drugs in March 2002 the cost of a monthly treatment for one person plummeted from $500-$750 to $30

2: patent will stifle the innovation of life-saving drug (small in number)

Opp: 1. it is unfair to the pharmaceutical companies

(About the pay ）

• That’s needed for rearch and production.(65%)

• That’s needed for scientists. （ 15%）

fairness

2: it is unfair to the incentives.(virus is changing all the time)

A: patents cost lives (government’s responsibility)• human life is a right and a right for everyone, not just the rich.------Social Contract• Human life is sacred and cannot be measured out by twenty year monopolies for huge financial gain. ---------Human rights

morality

Prop:

Eg: The hepatitis in China 400yuan/box-----4yuan/box, 30 million

20%of them rely on the drug

B: It is moral for the scientists (the source of incentives)The incentives for coming up with such a revolutionary product, is not just monetary. Money matters, but the main purposes of science is to save human life. Example: Jonas Salle(polio vaccine 小儿麻痹症 )

morality

Opp:A:Patents save lives.

•Incentives encourage the innovation of life-saving drugs,

thus save a lot of lives.

B:“Price discrimination”:• less than 5% of medicines on the WHO’s essential drugs list

are subject to patent monopoly .Example: (South Africa), Trevor Jone

Morality

Structure barriers

(law is based on social convention)patents should be available in WTO member states for any inventions, in all fields of technology,and the term of protection available should be the minimum twenty years ---------------WTOAgreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Prop:

1. the current system is flawed

America(1790) france(1791) span （ 1820 ） German （ 1877 ） Japan （ 1826）

A :The current system aims at marketing•only 14% of pharmaceuticals' budgets go to R&D

2: the system is inefficient

Structure barriers

B: secrecy for development of drugs. •Often drugs that are produced are done in stages, with one compound patented and companies paying the patent-holder to do further experiments to develop the drug.

Structure barriers

1. The system is reasonable.

•Enhance the innovation of life-saving drugs (money permits)

2: the range of patent.

Only issue to the life-saving drugs (the inherent nature of macket and human)

Opp:

•There is need for advertisement